We all know everyone in the nation is recruiting Zion. And he most likely is going to sign with ACC/SEC or another Power 5. However, I, along with many of you can think of some good reasons he should sign with the T-dogs.

1) He is a one and done dude, so why not stay at home where he already has the built in community support. And if he is one an done it really doesn't matter much playing at a Power Conference School. Sure one could argue about the big school exposure, environment, etc. But in reality as a one and done guy is that really important?

2) We are playing good teams. Our schedule is not soft, so he will get to play against top-flight competition.

3) He would pack the building every game (He would do that at any school most likely) but he could have more interaction with fans, etc at the JRIA.

4) He would really learn how to play lock down D at Woffy. The NBA is loaded with plenty of dudes who can fill it up scoring. But not that many can fill it up and play lights out D all the time.

5) When he does finish his degree at Woffy, he will a very good degree from a very good school.

6) His family would not have to travel to see him play. And he could eat home cooking all the time.

7) And most of all he could do something unique that is not often done--sign with the little school.

I wasn't among the crowd that thought we had a chance but you've got to love the old, tired trope of "I'm gonna shock the world" by committing exactly where everyone expected you would end up. I'm not knocking the kid's decision because Duke is an amazing school academically and athletically, just that the "shock the world" but is played out.

Duke is a great school and Coach K is a heckuva coach. Duke is very comfortable and adept these days schooling one-year wonders and placing them in careers, which is what it is about these days for top players.

I imagine Calipari is ticked. He may have thought he had perfected the one-and-done, it's-all-a-show-for-the-NBA model -- but Coach K has outdone him. Duke is the place to go to be part of an all-star team, one-year audition for the NBA. Being a "great school" is entirely irrelevant.

Sorry, but I don't think anyone can use the academic BS on Duke recruiting the "one and dones" They are using 18 year old kids to win basketball games; PERIOD!! Now that he has decided to sell out for wins, what is K going to say about the hypocrisy? They recruit a kid who comes in during the summer and takes a couple of courses so they can take the minimum in the fall to stay eligible. In the Spring semester they don't even have to attend a class, because they aren't going to finish the semester anyway (due to the combines). Maybe they will create a class that will help these kids avoid beeing fleeced by the agents and hangers on! Even the mighty Duke has sold out completely, and will probably now tell us that it is the NBA's fault. Well, it seems that there are only two major programs who have sold out to the "one and done syndrome"- so far.

boulder3m wrote:Sorry, but I don't think anyone can use the academic BS on Duke recruiting the "one and dones" They are using 18 year old kids to win basketball games; PERIOD!! Now that he has decided to sell out for wins, what is K going to say about the hypocrisy? They recruit a kid who comes in during the summer and takes a couple of courses so they can take the minimum in the fall to stay eligible. In the Spring semester they don't even have to attend a class, because they aren't going to finish the semester anyway (due to the combines). Maybe they will create a class that will help these kids avoid beeing fleeced by the agents and hangers on! Even the mighty Duke has sold out completely, and will probably now tell us that it is the NBA's fault. Well, it seems that there are only two major programs who have sold out to the "one and done syndrome"- so far.

There are a number of programs that would commit to one-and-done if they had the ability.

Before criticizing the players too much, think about Marcus Lattimore. One injury takes him from future NFL millions to coaching high school football (he has recently picked up a job at South Carolina).

The NBA really just needs to create a rookie league for those players who have no intention of getting a college degree. I remember back when Coach K would not let Duke hang a championship banner if until every player had graduated or was on schedule to graduate.

Last edited by walliver on Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yeah, it's hard to blame the players for going pro as early as they can. And it is also true that any coach in the country -- including Mike Young at Wofford -- probably would have taken Zion Williamson knowing that his intention wasn't to work diligently over four years to earn a degree. That's the reality of things. Still, Kentucky and Duke have marketing themselves as "one-and-done" factories, essentially.

It doesn't seem like all that long ago that the word on Duke basketball was that they were "different" because guys bought into the idea of staying in school for four years. Now, Coach K has made this one-year thing the basis of his whole program. He's adapted -- and done so with much success -- but good grief.

It makes Wofford and SoCon basketball that much more interesting and worth watching, to me....you can actually watch players develop over four years.

dude wrote:Yeah, it's hard to blame the players for going pro as early as they can. And it is also true that any coach in the country -- including Mike Young at Wofford -- probably would have taken Zion Williamson knowing that his intention wasn't to work diligently over four years to earn a degree. That's the reality of things. Still, Kentucky and Duke have marketing themselves as "one-and-done" factories, essentially.

It doesn't seem like all that long ago that the word on Duke basketball was that they were "different" because guys bought into the idea of staying in school for four years. Now, Coach K has made this one-year thing the basis of his whole program. He's adapted -- and done so with much success -- but good grief.

It makes Wofford and SoCon basketball that much more interesting and worth watching, to me....you can actually watch players develop over four years.

Steph Currey, from Davidson, went pro after three years. However, as I understand, he did take classes in the off season and graduated.